Victor Hugo was born February 26, 1802 in Besançon and died May 22, 1885 in Paris. He was a French poet and playwrighter , he marked the history of the nineteenth century, and is still recognized thanks to his literary works, and also by his political speeches. He wrote works very well known as Les Châtiments (1853), Les Contemplations (1856) and Les Misérables in 1862.
To Jersey from France
Because of his political opinion, Victor Hugo could not stay in France during the reign of Napoleon III, and had to refuge in a discreet place. He moved to Jersey in 1852 and he stayed until 1855. Thanks to his refuge he was able to publish his political pamphlet against Napoleon III Napoléon le Petit and Histoire d’un crime. During his period of leaving in jersey he also composed and published some of his best work like Les Misérables, Les Châtiments 1853; Les Contemplations 1856 and La Légende des siècles 1859. Very quickly Victor Hugo becomes very interested in photography. He wants to use it as a political tool to show his image in France. So it becomes a family affair. His sons Charles and, François-Victor, organize a photographic workshop . The Jersey workshop was a unique adventure. It was both a look at the landscape that sometimes inspired Victor Hugo’s drawings and a testimony to an outlaw in exile. The Jersey Workshop was a photographic studio in the greenhouse at Marine Terrace. Victor Hugo’s project was to create a book on the Channel Islands illustrated with images. But the book was never finished, he still produced an intense production of salted paper prints. The purpose of the workshop was to preserve the memory of the exiles, the portraits which were taken were placed in many albums which were sometimes adorned with paintings or collages by Charles Hugo.
STORY: What is your migrant community story? Describe in:
3 Words: A migrant story.
A Sentence: A migrant story which foregrounds the various cultural identities that exist within the different parts of St. Helier.
A Paragraph: The migrant community story I wish to present is one of cultural diversity. With this my aim is to display the different quarters located in town, which traditionally were exclusive to various migrant communities. These include the French and Portuguese quarter, the merchant quarter and the British expat and wealthy quarter. These quarters of town originated from migrants arriving in Jersey for work and new opportunities for their families, providing Jersey with goods and labour in return. This in turn resulted in these micro communities within the parish of St. Helier, which encapsulate the food, religions and trades belonging to these migrants.
NARRATIVE: How will you tell your story?
I will tell this migrant community story through a series of portraits of the people who belong and shape these varied communities in St. Helier, juxtaposed with the architectural landscapes they live, pray and work in, displaying their impact on how the island’s capital looks. I will collect these images from a series of photoshoots, which will take place in and around the migrant quarters in town. With this hopefully an audience will be able to have a visual representation of the mass amount of cultural diversity this island possesses. These photoshoots will be taken in instalments of revisits to these areas, allowing for an opportunity to show change and a growing sense of familiarity and knowledge of the people and communities.
AUDIENCE: Who is it for?
This zine will allow for a look inside the lives of people in Jersey, meaning this could be well received by someone foreign to the Island wanting to gain an insight to the Island’s cultural diversity. This is as it demonstrates how communities that were brought to the island hundreds of years ago in order to boost the economy, amongst other things, have evolved and helped shape the future of the island. In addition, this zine may be beneficial to people interested in migrating to Jersey who are 20-40, due to the fact that it presents a welcoming attitude to new communities that help grow a more multicultural and accepting place. Furthermore, they will see a representation of their ages group in these images, giving them a better chance to relate and connect with these images, also whilst seeing what life could be like for them here. On the other hand, it can also be said that this zine may be best received by Jersey islanders that are not from St. Helier, within the age group of 14-18 year olds. This is due to the fact that it gives younger natives that live in more rural areas a chance to recognise how large our migrant community is here, as they may not have been explicitly educated on Jersey’s relationship with migration in the past. This was the case for me whilst producing images for this zine, as I was not as familiar as I should have been with the varied cultures and the history of their impact on the island, however this in turn gave me a new perspective of the Island I have lived on my whole life.
My visit to the Jersey Museum began with a dive into an exhibition room with multitudes of well designed walls detailing Jerseys lengthily history which began almost 250,000 years ago when the first people arrived in Jersey and continues through the centuries to explore the factors that have shaped this unique Island and the people who live here. This intrigued my interest in immigration and specifically how people from all over the globe come together in an inspiring feat of unity. This interest can be sourced from the fact that I am an immigrant in many forms as I have lived in a few countries and all of them have been extensively culturally diverse such as the place I call my home; South Africa. Which is just like Jersey in terms of its diversity.
I moved to the island just 3 years ago. The exhibition states; ‘Every Jersey resident has an immigration story – whether their family came here 500 years or five years ago. This exhibition explores some of these stories and the ways in which immigration has shaped and influenced the Island we know today.’ This statement immediately creates an a sense of belonging and inclusivity for me being a recent immigrant to the island considering that everyone has a story they can share and relate to one another with, even the most local islanders.
The section of the museum we visited first focused on immigration to jersey and tells the story about why people have moved here over the centuries.
One of the areas of the exhibition I was most interested in was the section on tourism to jersey. Jersey saw a boom in tourism in the 50s, 60s and 70s.
It was nicknamed honeymoon island as it was a favourite location for newlyweds. Jersey attracted this boom of people as it had everything people wanted when they started looking to holiday in the post WWII years. Jersey was an escape from life on the mainland and it had better weather and better beaches.
Everything in jersey at the time was also much cheaper which attracted even more holiday goers.
This boom in travel to Jersey changed the island in many ways. Just one example being the fact that aeroplanes used to land on the beach at low tide in jersey but due to the boom they built an airport. This segment of the exhibition took my attention due to the fascinating and aesthetic vintage travel posters used by British and Irish airlines and French railway lines to advertise travel to the island
This part of the exhibition also rang bells in another personal way for me. It relates to another South Africa to Jersey migration story. The story begins with a pair of South African surfers in the 60s got fired from the Umhlanga Hotel for swinging on the chandeliers. I grew up surfing in this area and this is a hotel I have stayed in many times so this story has many personal connections with my life and to learn about these migration stories is incredibly compelling and fulfilling. The surfers then decided to hop on a boat to the UK after getting fired from their job to look for greater opportunities. While working in the UK they realised that the cold, rainy weather and being far from the ocean was not for them. One evening they spotted perfect curling waves and blue skies on a Jersey tourism ad during the time of the tourism boom and hopped on the next boat over. They built their own boards and began surfing down at St Ouen’s Bay. The owner of the Watersplash restaurant and night club at the time noticed the lads and due to the increased number of ocean related deaths happening outside the restaurant, he decided to hire them as head lifeguards. The South African lifeguards continued to surf outside the Watersplash and this grabbed the attention of the local islanders as surfing had not yet arrived on the island. The two men had created a surge in popularity for surfing in Jersey and are responsible for bringing one of Jerseys most popular sports to the island.
